Cost-Benefit Analysis: Issues and Methodologies

Abstract

This book examines the numerous important contributions to the theory and practice of cost-benefit analysis, consolidating much of the recent work in this area and focusing on aspects that continue to be controversial. The principal methods of cost-benefit analysis, including the traditional one, are carefully explained in a comparative framework so that readers can identify their differences precisely and assess their usefulness in practice. Among the topics discussed are alternative types of valuation functions, differential weighting for income inequality and for disparities in the consumption of basic needs, shadow exchange rates and the valuation of nontraded and traded goods and services, valuation of savings and budget constraints, and concepts of discount rates and of shadow wage rates. The techniques and implications of using the more recent approaches are explained in practical terms. The author attempts to provide a more complete account of the issues and polemics in cost-benefit analysis than is currently available. A lengthy overview is provided for nonspecialist readers.

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